Report – Police Scotland – PIRC/00599/25
The Complaints
The complaints in this case arose after the applicant was arrested and charged under Section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018. The applicant had previously worked as a volunteer administrator for a charity where he had identified several financial and legal concerns. The applicant contacted the police a number of times in relation to his concerns. After being asked to step down from his position as administrator, the applicant downloaded information held on the charities database containing details of sales, donations and company names. The applicant was subsequently arrested and charged under the Data Protection Act. We have reviewed the handling of two complaints, namely that:
In May 2024, arresting officers could have used their discretion when effecting the applicant’s arrest, and
The applicant believes that the decision to arrest him, on 14 May 2024, was influenced by the involvement of a named retired superintendent.
Police Scotland's Decision
Police Scotland did not uphold either of the applicant’s complaints.
Our Findings
We have found that Police Scotland did not handle either of the applicant’s complaints to a reasonable standard.
Consequently, we have made two recommendations to address the shortcomings in Police Scotland’s handling of the complaints. In summary, we have recommended that Police Scotland conduct further necessary and proportionate enquiries into both complaints and thereafter provide a further response letter to the applicant, explaining the outcome of those enquiries and how the information gathered informed the conclusions reached.
Our recommendations should be implemented by Police Scotland within two months of the date of this report.
Police Bodies: Police Scotland